I did a lot of research on this same issue for about 4 months and just last month I purchased a 1984 SN2001. Just from my experience make sure you check the stringers for rot the best you can. Gel coat cracks and soft spots in the floor are a good sign of damage. It took me a few months to find one that was in good enough shape to drop in the water and ride but you can get them for 5k ready to go. Alot of them are 7-10k loaded. Mine came equipped with PP, plumbed for auto ballast, electric ignition, fuel injection, tower, and bimini top for 5k. Take your time and get a good one from what i found out you can easily sink 2-3k in new stringer, floor, and carpet if you cant do it yourself. I need to redo the seats in mine but thats minor compared to new floor in the others.

Attached are a few pics of the 1969 correct craft I am considering. I cant seem to find a nauty for under 9k. It seems that the Mastercrafts have a smaller wake. My wife and I love to surf and wakeboard. If you have a nauty near Arkansas for under 6k, lets talk.

Well I wouldn't exactly say it's like having a 30K wake boat. But it definitely will throw a good wake and hold 4-5 people.

If your looking 10K and below go mid to late 80's SN2001, If your going 14K-18K you can pick up a mid to late 90's Mastercraft Prostar 205DD and also have an awesome wake plus an open bow for more seating.

what years? The 82-89 Nautique is called the 2001 hull. It can produce a better wake than any other small closed bow direct drive and probably some V-drives. I personally think the Mastercraft from 84-89 was built better but unlike Nautique they didn't screw up the ski wake. Mastercraft went to fiberglass stringers in 84. For wakeboarding definetely get the nautique. Just make sure the floor and stringers are solid.

Wow, that is really old. Looks clean, but I have no experience with that boat.

My buddies used to rock an old '88 MC tristar and I would have to argue it had a better wake than the the 2001's. I had an '88 ski supreme at the same time (very similar to the 2001) and the wake was steeper, but a lot narrower. We alwaysed seemed to get a lot more size out of the tristar. Just my $0.02. Good luck!

I would have a dealer do a checkout on the boat you are considering. Dry rot is like a cancer, it just spreads. They will usually charge between 100-150 dollars to do a full checkout on the boat. A good way to do this is to present it to the seller, tell him you will pay half if he pays half and if it checks out you will write him a check immediately. Kind of making him put his money where his mouth is, ya know?

A buddy of mine had an 89 Nauty and that thing threw up a WALL of a wake with minimal weight. Another friend of mine had an old Stars and Stripes Mastercraft and that had a nice wake but required a fair amount of weight. I would go with a Nautique...

Definately keep looking and find a 82-89 SN2001. I am going out this weekend and will put up some wake pics. I dont have it rigged for surfing but i will see what i can do to get wake surf pics for you.

I have a 1978 MC Stars and Stripes and its been great. The wake is pretty small but if you add a couple buddies and some fat sacks (I put one on either side of the engine) Its great. Good shape, nice and firm. It's also really fun to drive, these older smaller boats with the flat bottoms handle amazing. I bought it in non working condition for $1500 and redid everything. I have no idea how much I spent but I really don't want to know. I'm selling it for $6300 if anyone is interested. I'm in Southern California.

I'm not sure If I would go for something as old as '69 but if it makes you happy go for. Definitely check the stringers though!

jamie. i dont know about up in arkansas, but here in north louisiana, 2001's are very rare cause no one sold nautiques back in the day around here. I just sucked it up and bought a 79 mastercraft. im takin it to the lake tomorrow. if i get a chance ill get some pics of the wake and stuff. I do have a fat seat and tube sac to put in there though.

Don't know if it is fact or not, but any slalom skier prefered the MC wake of that era. My dad still has a 85 MC and the wake just doesn't compare to the Nautiqes for boarding.

Even my stepdads 1991 MC 190 didn't have as good of a wake as my friends 1993 CC ski nautique. The ski nautique would hold ballast better and even would hold speed better and not fight planing off or plowing. Looking back we could of changed how we had it weighted, but then you just threw a fat sac in the back and that was it.

Those boats were made to slalom and I think MC won that, but looking back CC got it right for what you want it to do with it now.

I have a 94 MC ProStar205 and I love it. I have about $15k into it total and it still runs great with 1400 hours. I looked all winter to find it and it fell in my lap one day. Ya, it's purple, but who else can say they have a purple boat? Keep looking and something will turn up. I think the open bow was worth the extra money IMO. I was looking at the same boats when I bought mine 5 years ago.

Craig I knew a kid when I was competing more (Brian Nelson, I believe was his name, from New England) who trained on an American Skier exactly like that, with an extended pylon. I don't know what happened to him - we all thought he was heading for the pros.

Outlaw class. Killed it. Mobes and all raley/hoochie variants at the time (99-00). That style American Skier was his boat. Correct Craft had a boat called American Skier but I don't know, or think that, it was the same hull. Regardless I knew someone who was 4x better than me and that was his boat.

EDIT - By the way, Dave can you or one of the moderators TinyUrl that humongous link - it is kind of breaking the thread.

If I were you I'd base my opinion on the really informative posts, like from Lenny. "enough said."

My '88 Ski Nautique 2001 is still going strong. Do you have a wake you're used to? I have been going behind my buddies '98 MC 205 a lot lately and in my opinion I'd take the Nautique wake any day over the 205 wake. Other people I ride with have transitioned to the 205 wake fine but I still really dislike it. The Nautique gives an awesome extra kick!

So im gonna go ahead and pose another question. Exactly how legal are these boats with 1000 to 1500 pounds of water plus people and gear? they have got to be sittin real low in the water. especially since they werent desinged for this weight. my fat seat by itself will over do the capacity on my S&S. then i add 5 or 6 people to it?

Jamie, I've had my '84 SN 2001 for a year now and love it. I put two 600lb. sacs on either side of the motor and a 250 in the back and the wake is perfect! Waaaaaayyyy better than our '96 ski nautique that I grew up on. Mine was around $12,000, but that was with tower, new paint, new interior, and a 2003 motor. For the $$, the wake is comparable to some of todays boats.

I rock a fat seat (1500), 2 full sacks (1200) and 2 tube sacks (500) plus people and gear. I think my plate says somewhere around 1200 lbs. I need to be a little careful going through big rollers, but it's only sitting 3-4" lower than normal, no biggie.

We dont load ours with anything more than a "fat buddy" 250lb bag on either side of the engine, a 500lb bag in the back and 200lbs up front. People very often run 3 full size bags in 2001's now and it perplexes me.

But - yes that topic has been beat to death. Let's look the other way.